history of catalunya

dedicated to the four fingers of blood

The History of Catalunya Museum was founded in 1996 by the Catalan Government. Catalunya has a rich and interesting history going back over 1000 years. The museum, housed in an old waterfront warehouse, is designed to make the country’s culture and history better known to visitors.

This area was first settled in the Middle Palaeolithic era, but after that, the first proper settlements were built by the Greek and Carthaginian Empires. Next came the Romans, and the cities of Barcelona, Tarragona and Empúries began to grow.

As the Roman Empire declined, the region was attacked and settled by the Visigoths and then the Moors. Finally the Moors were defeated by the Frankish Empire in 801AD. Christianity had returned.

It was at this point local warlords made the whole region into one kingdom, ruled by the Count of Barcelona and Catalunya was born!

By royal marriage, the kingdoms of Catalunya and Aragon merged in the Middle Ages. In addition, this small maritime empire spread to include Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, Naples and even for a short time, Athens.

After that, in 1469 King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile married, and this laid the foundations for a unified Spanish Christian state, under one monarchy.

Loosing Independence

Catalunya carried on enjoying relative independence up until the War of Spanish Succession in 1701. Unfortunately, the region backed the loosing side. The new Bourbon king Philip V of Spain did not have mercy for Catalunya. He banned the language and disbanded the world’s first democratic parliament, formed over 500 years earlier.

Similarly, In recent times the history of Catalunya has been a tale of struggle to keep this ancient culture and language alive. It has had various resurrections. At the end of the 19th Century and again beginning of the 20th. Then once again oppression returned, during and after the Spanish Civil War.

After Franco’s death and the return of democracy to Spain, Catalunya has begun to flourish. The 1992 Olympic Games marked its return to the international stage. Currently a pro-independence government is in place, with the stated aim to breakaway from the rest of Spain.

The History of Catalunya museum is well put together and apart from highlighting the ‘Catalan’ story, it hosts various events and exhibitions right through the year.

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